CRH Ep. 10 Trophy Hunters Anonymous. Artwork

Close Range Hunter

It’s about THE HUNT! There’s no substitute for experience, so listen up as we share what we and our guests have accumulated through lives filled with adventures and sometimes misadventures! We want to share our passion and experience in the backcountry to motivate and educate our listeners to become confident, skilled and ethical outdoors people. We cover the full range of the hunting experience including: backcountry skills, hunting methods, gear, wildlife biology, conservation, fair chase, hunting ethics, and current issues. Through discussions, Q&A, stories, and interviews with experts in a range of backcountry pursuits our goal is to entertain the listener while providing valuable information gained by years of experience to help you become a more confident and successful outdoors person.

All Episodes

Close Range Hunter

CRH Ep. 10 Trophy Hunters Anonymous.

October 08, 2022 • CJ Dunn

They say the first step is admitting that you have a problem. In this episode I do just that, and talk about my debilitating addiction to archery hunting for trophy coues deer.

This quest has caused 30 years years of frustration and unfilled tags not to mention the paranoia that came with finding and pursuing a true world record class buck. Yes, I spent six of those years attempting to match wits with and obsessing over a giant buck I called Big Fork. After he died of natural causes in 2013 I was crushed and hit rock bottom. Because of that I quit archery deer hunting cold turkey for ten years, but this year I fell off the wagon and picked up the bow and the bad habit again, just as bad as ever. Yet another frustrating early archery deer season, complete with close calls, has me thinking about quitting again. Maybe I need a Slump Buster and should go after an ugly carp deer.

In this episode I talk about hunts gone by and my eventful 2022 early archery season in an effort begin taking the first steps to kick this nasty habit.